Best NPR Interview EVER!

Forgive my lack of a "real" post - there's not a whole lot going on at The House That Crazy Built today.

Well, technically, there's lots going on, but all of it is boring - laundry, vacuuming, pathetically attempting to repair a bad gutter by ourselves. Therefore, I'm not going to ramble on about any of it. Mainly because it's not just boring-boring, it is mega-über-boring...

---

But you want to know what's *NOT* boring?

THIS <---- the best NPR interview. Ever.

Nom! Nom! Nom!

Goody Two Shoes!

What's this peeking out from under the cuffs of my stupidly-too-long* jeans?





Only the CUTEST SHOES EVER!!!

OK - maybe it's been too long since I treated myself to anything new - but there are not words to tell you how giddy I am over these. I'm like a kindergartner with a shiny new backpack filled with brand-spanking new Hello Kitty school supplies on the first morning of school.
That is how twitterpated I am over these shoes.

And can you blame me?
I mean, really... they're baby blue.
With bright red laces.
So cute...

Not convinced?

Did I show you the little birds on the sides?



Still not convinced?
OK - you're forcing me to bring out the heavy artillery here.

Little Red Riding Hood.



'Nuff said?

Thought so.

(And if you can stand it, there's one more neat thing... These shoes are part of the (Product)RED initiative. So I'm feeling cute and like a humanitarian...

Want your own pair of happy-making shoes? Visit here.)

---

*I'm going to trip and hurt myself one day because of jeans like this. It's just for so many years I *never* had a pair of jeans that was quite long enough, much less too long. I'm 5'9" - and it seems that most of that is legs.
Now, thanks to how ginormous teenagers get these days, finding long enough jeans isn't a problem anymore. But I still tend to wear them too long, I guess to compensate for all those years of wearing Urkel-pants...

It's the Little Things, Isn't It?

As I was folding/putting away laundry, this little scene caught my eye, and made me all happy for a just a moment.

Sometimes it's just the silliest things that catch you off guard, and make you smile..

---

I mentioned that I've been making washcloths again, right?
Lots and lots of washcloths.
I can't help it - they're fun (and dead simple) to make, and I love the final product.

I decided that for the New Year, I wanted a completely fresh set.
Starting the year off on the right foot, I suppose.
How decadent to have a fresh cloth for each day of the week. (If I were a more clever pup, I'd embroider "Sunday, Monday, etc..." on each one!)

Only wrinkle in my plan? I ran out of ecru colored yarn.

Eh. No worries, just use what you have on hand, right?

Which explains the random blue/purple/teal ones thrown into the mix.
(It's funny, they obviously work exactly the same as the natural colored ones, but I don't like them quite as well. Except for maybe the teal one - because it's all matchy-matchy with the wall color in the bathroom. Which also makes me inexplicably smiley.)

So, yeah. I guess today is one of those days where I'm just in an easy mood.

It's not such a bad place to be...
In a shiny happy mood, and with a clean face, too.

Mermaid Scarf Completed...

Sweet Cracker Sandwich, do I love this thing...

Dark Side, I embrace thee!

---

The colors are stunning, it was fun to knit, the wool is so soft and not at all scratchy, and I even like the way the "wrong" side looks.

And it was fast! From cast on to wrapping it up to go was under four hours. And I enjoyed every minute...

Goodbye Mermaid Scarf - I'm going to miss you!

---

Does anyone know a better way to take a picture of a scarf? I seem to keep taking essentially this exact photo over and over and over. And I don't know that it's displaying the scarf to its full advantage.

Coming Over to the Dark Side...

I have long been ambivalent about knitters who work with really big needles, and really fat yarns, and boast about how they can crank out a scarf in an afternoon.

Somehow that has never seemed quite sporting to me.
I guess I considered that to be knitting for those with more money than dedication to the knitting arts.

Maybe it's a been a bit of envy on my part - I don't usually spend the money to buy the pricey yarns that knit up so quickly.
So, that may be a part of it, I don't know...

But to me, knitting has never been about "how quickly can I whip something up."

Knitting and instant gratification have always been two very different concepts to me.

Until yesterday...

---

An odd confluence of events brought me to this point...

I began yesterday, with a trip to Knitch to return some extra yarn.* I had told myself on the way into the store that I was going to return it for store credit on my account, and that I was going to leave the store without looking around at anything. I could always come back at a later date and browse...

Is it my fault that there was the most gorgeous yarn display on the table right by the exit door??? (Knitch, you're not playing fair!) I allowed myself to stop and admire for a few moments, then I steeled my resolve and left without it.

But it stuck in my head like a big shiny diamond.
So gorgeous...

Then a few short hours later, I learned that a good friend of mine was celebrating her 40th birthday.
(There seems to be a lot of that going around lately... A lot!)
I've known Hil since our college days - and to spare you all from doing the math, I'll just come out and admit that I met her 21 years ago.

After much deliberation - would she like it? would she not like it? - I put two and two together and decided to make her a scarf... Lucky for me I knew just the yarn to try to get it done by the party on Sunday night...



Gah! Isn't that just gorgeous??? It's Rowan Biggy Prints in the mermaid colorway, and it makes me drool just a little looking at it...
It's like porn, for knitters!

And it knits up faster than anything I have ever made...
Sitting down last night to watch A Christmas Story** I found that I was two-thirds of the way through the scarf before the movie ended!



Knitting at the speed of light...

I can see why this is so addictive...

---

*It was yarn that I had not needed for a project that I've been working on, and which I may show here at BFC, once I get it blocked.

Or I may not.

It's a scarf for Bubba's cousin, whose name I drew in the BubbaFamily Gift Exchange.
Said cousin *lurves* UT football to an almost embarrassing degree. He's one of those guys whose veins run deep Orange. Anyhoo...

I find that orange is a difficult color for most of us to wear, and the UT Orange is a spectacularly ugly shade which no one looks good in. (Now I'm cowering, 'cause if any UT fans are reading this, I'm in for an earful, I know...) When I realized that I had extra left over, I realized there was no way I was keeping it...

**I'll spare you from listening to me blather on about how much I love this movie. But it's a WHOLE LOT...
One of these days, I am totally going to visit here.

Even if I have to go by myself.

Which I probably will have to, since no one I know wants to go with me...

Musings on Hannah Montana...

OK - I watched it...

...and right off the bat I've got to say that I don't think I get why this is show has become so insanely popular.
There wasn't much in the way of story (although that may not be a fair assessment since I only watched the one episode), and the acting? Ouch! Painful!

(And what's up with that obviously 8 year old kid who owns his own business? And is filming a television commercial for it? Random.)

Despite my lack of "getting it" - I still loved every minute of the show.
Dolly Parton?
Vicki Lawrence?
Dolly and Vicki in a total smackdown of a catfight?

Priceless... Delicious, even...

And the cherry on the top of the sundae was that Dolly sang, too?
I'm telling you, I was one happy pup...

---

I do want to add that even though I wasn't smitten by her character (or her acting skills, or lack thereof) I was completely enamored of Miley/Hannah's voice! She's such a young 'un, and she's got that fabulous raspy voice.

It was like listening to a lil' hillbilly Suzanne Pleshette!

TiVo Alert...

After spending a small chunk of this afternoon trying to upload pictures - to no avail - I'm throwing in the towel.
I'm frustrated, so pictures will just have to wait for another day...

But, in lieu of a nice picture-y post, I leave you with this very important service announcement...

---

TiVo Alert

Set those DVRs for this Friday night, December 7th at 8 pm, the Disney Channel.
And so help me, I never dreamed I would ever type the words that I'm about to type next....

Because you do not want to miss Hannah Montana.

That's right.
Hannah Montana.

Now, I've never watched the show, but I know who she is. Even as out of it as I am, I've not been able to avoid hearing about the juggernaut that is the spawn of AchyBreaky's loins.

But I don't care about her.
(Insert pause here, so that thousands of the nation's outraged tween girls can intake a sharp breath....)

The reason that you don't want to miss this VerySpecialEpisode of Hannah Montana is the VerySpecial Guest Star.

My idol; the one, the only; the inimitable

Dolly Parton
I do love me some Dolly, I really do.
For some reason, many people who know me think that this couldn't possibly be true. But it is. I genuinely admire this woman.

So much so that I'm going to stay in on Friday night*, and watch Hannah Montana.

That's devotion right there, that's what that is...
(and as extra enticement - as if you needed any! - Vicki Lawrence also guest stars. Sweet!)

---

*OK, maybe that part's not so much of a sacrifice. Can't remember the last time I actually went out on a Friday night. But still...

Random Nibbly Bits (that I'm loving)

In no particular order...

---

• Last month, Amy (from 3 to Get Ready) and I had a fun girl's lunch out.
  There was much chatter, there was much Thai food eaten, and then there was much shopping at Knitch. A pretty fun way to spend a half a day, I must say.
  
  I think I bought a set of tapestry needles, as I had just broken the eye on the only one I owned. Such a glamorous purchase, right?
  
  I think that Amy bought something small as well, but mostly we were browsing and compiling/comparing our wish lists....
  
  One of the things that I saw that caught my fancy was a kit to make a felted poinsettia wreath. It was reasonably priced - somewhere in the $30 range, perhaps?
  
  But I don't spend money easily. I really have to mull and think over things. My typical shopping strategy is to make a note of it, and then go home. If, a few days later, it is still stuck in my head like a big shiny diamond, then I am allowed to go back and buy it.
  I guess that makes me the anti-impulse shopper.
  
  Anyhow - the wreath kit had kind of stuck in my head, like the proverbial big shiny diamond. I just hadn't had time to go back for it. But it was still in my mind's eye, twinkling away.
  
  So imagine my delight when I got an email from the Lion's Brand Yarn people, informing me of a sale at their site.
  
  Thought I'd check it out - and what did I find. A Felted Poinsettia Wreath Kit! Which looks exactly like I remember the one at Knitch looking...
  
  Regularly $24.95 - on sale for $19.95! WooHoo!!!!
  
  But it gets better...
  
  Did I mention that I don't spend money easily? Well, Bubba says I should tell everyone my "little online shopping trick." Personally, I don't think this is a trick, and I suspect that everyone does this, but Bubba says he disagrees... Anyhow, here 'tis.
  
  Before I buy anything online, I go to Google and I Google whatever the name of the site is + "Coupon Code."
  (For example, I ordered Christmas Cards from Shutterfly last night - and before I checked out at the site, I went and Googled:
  
  shutterfly.com, "coupon code"
  which sent me to a site with a 20% off code. WooHoo! I *like* saving money...)
  
  So I Googled and learned that the LBY people had just done a pod-cast, featuring the Yarn Harlot. And that if I listened to the pod cast, they'd give out a code good for 15% off any purchase through the end of December.
  (FYI - if you don't feel like listening to the whole podcast, they announce the code at the end of the podcast. Or, if you really, really don't want to listen, just e-mail me. I'll tell you the code... But it was very entertaining, so if you have time you should listen!)
  
  So, squeeee! I listened to the podcast, got my 15% off code, and ordered myself a discounted wreath.
  I see many days of pressing my face against the window wistfully - as I wait for the PostalCarrier to bring me my new toy - in my future....



---



• Speaking of nice mornings out with good girlfriends....
  Yesterday, I got to meet the fabulous Sandy, aka HockeyMom Knits - for a chatter-fest over lunch. You couldn't ask for a nicer lunch companion!
  My only complaints? Seemed like lunch was over way too quickly...
  And I think that my face is sore from smiling, and my sides are sore from all the giggling and tee-heeing I did...
  (Sandy also scores big bonus points for not taunting me about my lunch order: a hot dog, with a side order of green beans.
  'Cause you know, green beans are healthy. And they're totally going to cancel out that hot dog, right???)



---



• Last, but not least - I've been enjoying reading The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I like her writing style, and she photographs everything real pretty. I also like that she uses easy, readily obtainable ingredients - no matter where you live, you ought to be able to duplicate her recipes...
  
  Tonight - I tried her Punk-Ass Penne Pasta (I mean, c'mon... with a name like that how can you not want to give it a try...)
  
  Sweet Cracker Sandwich - that was some good stuff. Serious good...
  And that's even after I made some (ahem) "healthier" modifications to it...
  Basically, I cut all amounts of oil and butter by at least half, and I used 1/2 cup fat free half and half and 1/2 cup of heavy cream instead of the full cup of cream called for... It was still sinfully good!
  
  I highly recommend you give it a try!
  



---



• The final thing I'm loving tonight? Newly washed flannel sheets on the bed. Which are calling my name....
  
  G'night!

Quiet Morning....

I See The Moon..., originally uploaded by lla.

Things I'm Loving....Knitting Again!

Information Architect Scarf, Too., originally uploaded by lla.

I knit up another "Information Architect's" scarf over the Thanksgiving holiday for The Caretaker.
Kind of a "Happy 40th Birthday, Here's a Scarf" kind of thing...

I call this the "Information Architect" scarf, because I modified the Architect's Scarf from "Greetings from Knit Cafe" - made it wider, played around a bit with the stripe pattern - just little stuff.

It looks like they got some snow this weekend in Seattle - so I'm glad I got this in the mail in a timely fashion... (which as you know, is most unlike me...)

And this gets filed under "People I Love"...

One of my most favorite people is having a birthday today!

Please swing by The Digital LandPhil, and wish the CareTaker a very happy birthday!

---

And I won't put the birthday boy on the spot by telling you how old he is.
Let's just say that if I were going to take a picture of it, it would look like this:



He wears it well.

Have a very, very Happy one, UCE/UB!

Well, Look At This...

Two posts in the same day! Woo Hoo...

Hope you're not sick of me yet!

---

This seems as good a way as any to kick off "Things I'm Loving"...

Dig if you will, the picture: I'm doing laundry ('cause some drudgery never ends!) and I'm checking the pockets of the jeans, etc. When I find this small, business-card-sized note in Schecky's cargo pants:




This is cracking me up - obviously a list of things for which he is thankful, written for Spanish class. Which explains the name, "Miguel" - obviously, there's no Spanish translation for Schecky...

My Spanish is virtually non-existent, but between my shaky knowledge, and Babel Fish, I think he's thankful for:

• My family
• My fish
• My house
• My cats
• The turkey
• My Wii

There are a few things on this list that surprise me.

Like his fish, "Fish", for example. I'm not sure he's really that invested in Fish. It may just be that it was an easy word that he knew. (The Scheckster gets lazy like his Momma that way...)

The other thing that surprised me? That Bubba and I got listed before the Wii*!
I'm thankful for that!

Speaking of a boy... I'm about 3 minutes away from being late to pick him up -
Better run!

---

*A perfect example of a not-sucky thing that happened in November. Bubba received a Wii for participating in some developer's conference earlier in the year. We are all smitten - even me, much to my surprise. I'm not much of a gamer, and I have ZERO eye/hand coordination. So I wasn't all that excited when the Wii showed up at the house. I mean, it was free, which always makes me happy, but aside from that, I was kind of "meh."

Until we set it up.

I *love* this thing. It truly is a gaming platform that everyone can enjoy - young or old. Athletic or uncoordinated, etc. There really is something for everyone.

And - who knew? - it turns out that I am some sort of freakish bunny disco dancing savant!

Hey Ho, Let's Go!

You know how I've not been around much lately?
Mainly because this was the November that threatened to kick my ass?

Well... it hasn't.

HAH!

The month is almost over - as are all the crazy time over-commitments* I made! YIPPEE!!!

So - I'm back.
Almost...
(I know, I know... you were holding your breath for this day, right?)

---

I'm spending this week trying to catch up on the past month of blog reading (and might I just say "damn you, NaBloPoMo?" 'Cause all you people posting every day? Making it very difficult to get caught up... that's all I'm saying**) and then I think I'm ready to start posting again.

Honestly, I've missed blogging - both the reading and the writing (although, I believe that I'm a better reader/commenter than actual content provider) - and I'm ready to ease back in.

For you see, this last month hasn't been all "work and no play" - there's been a lot of play too. The real problem with November wasn't non-stop hideous drudgery (although there was too much of it!) The real problem was that there was too much of everything! Lots of activities, lots of friends, lots of travel, lots of food - so I've got a lot of stuff that I thought was interesting, that I'd like to share, from the past month.

So - I think the next few weeks - heck, maybe the entire month of December? - are going to loosely follow the theme of "things I love."

It's true that I may not have done the actual thing that I'm posting about on the actual day that I post it - but it's something that I liked well enough that I thought "I want to share that some day."
Hopefully, it'll still seem timely...

And on that note - and since I've not got my thoughts and photos organized to do some of that aforementioned sharing - I leave you with two quick links to things I'm loving today...

---

• FREE RICE - Let me just tell you - I am love, Love, LOVING this... Increase your vocabulary *and* feed the hungry? Does it get any better than this? Seriously - run, go play! Now!
  
  
  
  


• The Threadless $10 Sale - OK, this is somewhat less altruistic (one of the Free Rice words I got right this morning!) but still fun, albeit in a different way. I love so many of the Threadless designs - and at $10 a pop? Fabulousity...
  I got Schecky a couple of shirts, including Pillow Fight, and the Luckiest T-Shirt Ever.
  
  What he really wanted? This one. To which Bubba and I both said "NO" - and then promptly snuck off to the other room where we laughed and laughed and laughed about it.
  
  This is another Run! Go Play! site, because the shirts are selling out quickly...

---

*And, so help me, kick me if I start all this volunteering nonsense again, 'K?

**And, I *know*, I *know* - no one's MAKING me catch up... I just WANT to. It's hard to be Obsessive Compulsive. Really, truly it is...